It's the New Year Somewhere

Yes, it's but 9:12 p.m. in Montana, but it's already 2010 in parts of South America, so we're going to join in their celebration and then go to bed. Before I leave, I wanted to share these awesome birds from Umbra that I found at Target today.



I have literally been looking for years for a cool bird display for my stairwell. These were easy to install (put push pins in the wall) and relatively cheap. Plus they're 3-D and I can take them with us if we ever move. Now I just want more!

Resolution Soapbox

Before asking today's soapbox question, I would like to inform everyone that we have some pretty nasty spiders around here - ones that if not lethal to babies, would certainly scare them. Last night, there was one behind the TV we're trying to sell on Craigslist. The cowboy boot didn't reach it, so there was only one option: the meat mallet. Even then, it took me about 5 minutes and quite a bit of sweat to (probably) kill the thing. But enough about spiders...

In honor of New Year's Eve and the impending New Year, I would like to ask if anyone ever kept a resolution that they made and would like to proudly share it on this blog. Two years ago I kept a resolution not to buy any new (or used) clothes. I did it and even now I think twice about purchasing clothes. Because they're so hard to keep, I'm not making any new resolutions this year. What about you?

What New Year's resolution have you kept?

New Year's Eve Parties

It's another Whatever Wednesday and today's topic is New Year's Eve. Growing up, my family was almost always invited to a New Year's Eve party. When we weren't, we hosted our own. Family friends would hang out until midnight, while everyone played games (like Bunco) and ate snacks. I was always the kid that went to sleep at 10pm and would stand at the top of the stairs asking everyone to be quiet so I could sleep. Talk about a party pooper!

We've been invited to one New Year's Eve party the entire time we have lived in Montana. We went, but left before the New Year. Frankly, I don't want to be on the roads around here after midnight. My idea of a perfect party is a group of friends hanging out and playing games until, say, 9pm. Then, everyone goes to their respective houses so they (or their kids) can go to bed at a reasonable time. I usually do wake up at midnight, if only to curse the fireworks, and then roll over back to bed. Every party has a pooper, that's why they invited me - party pooper!

Women Exploring Sects and Cults

Here we are at another edition of Book Worm Tuesday! This week I have selected some of the books that explore women who are either within or fascinated by different religious sects. Some of them I read just this past week.

Recommended Books
Plain and Simple: a woman's journey to the Amish by Sue Bender (PG)
The author was fascinated by the Amish lifestyle, and particularly the quilts and faceless dolls. This book describes the time when she lived among a couple families and the lessons she learned. I liked it, but would be interested to hear what Amish people thought of this book.

Seductive Poison: a Jonestown survivor's story of life and death in the Peoples Temple by Deborah Layton (R - thematic elements)
This was a gripping tale about a young girl who joined Jim Jones' cult and almost perished with the rest of Jonestown. Her family was also involved in the cult.

Shattered Dreams: my life as a polygamist's wife by Irene Spencer (PG-13 - discussion of marital relations, mild profanity)
This book was over 300 pages, but I could not put it down until I was finished! The author writes beautifully and somewhat respectfully of her time as the 2nd of Verlan LeBaron's 10 wives. She is quite sassy and has a good sense of humor. I highly recommend it.

Non-Recommended Book
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: a memoir of going home by Rhoda Janzen (R - language and relational issues)
I was not impressed by this little book for a few different reasons. It was difficult to feel sorry for the author when her athiest husband leaves her for a guy named Bob when she knew before they married that he was bipolar and bisexual. There was no real plot, and the narrative didn't flow very well. Also, she seemed to be poking fun at many of her family members. I'm not sure if any of them are talking to her after she published this book.

Dinner Disclosure

There has been a misconception, spread by movies and TV shows, that feeding someone a strange food without his or her knowledge is funny. Once my husband tried to trick my brother-in-law into eating a deer burger, but ended up accidentally eating it himself. About a year ago, I sat down to a nice Sunday lunch of roast and gravy, not knowing at first that it was elk. When I found out, I tried to keep eating it, but I lost my joie de vivre.

First, I would like to applaud those of you who actually do go out and brave cold weather, snow, and early mornings to bring home an animal to feed your family. Many people living in Montana survive the winter by killing and eating game. It is thrifty and helps keep the animal population under control. To show I am no stranger to this lifestyle, I grew up under the watchful eye of Otis, a buck who lives on in taxidermy heaven in my parents' Southern California living room. My mother tried (unsuccessfully) to sneak Otis meat into lasagna and other kid-friendly dishes.

All this is to say that I find it neither funny nor polite to serve your guests (or family members) game (or any other non-normal fare) without full disclosure of content. Will you join me in asking guests if anteloaf is OK?

For you kind souls who have 200 pounds of elk in a chest freezer, please, save your hard-earned meat for someone that appreciates it. I'm fine with a grilled cheese.

Merry Christmas!

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:14, NIV)

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Does Santa Visit Your House?

Soapbox Thursday is here! I want to know your thoughts on the following question:

How do you deal with Santa?

I was 3 or 4 when I realized Santa wore the exact same wedding ring as my dad. Coincidence? I thought not. Still, that did not deter my family members (or family dog or a man named Lanny) from dressing up in a Santa costume every Christmas Eve to bring us kids one gift to open early. One of my favorite memories is my Grandmother dressing up as Santa.

Still, I'm not sure how to broach Santa with my own daughter, who is too young to really appreciate him this year. What did (or does) your family do about Santa?

Something

This Christmas I told everyone I didn't want gifts. At the time I really didn't.

Then I saw some great reviews of this site called the Something Store. The Something Tracker showed people receiving spa sets and iPod shuffles. I thought my husband could buy me something for $10 and make that my Christmas gift.

It arrived on Saturday. I had it in my possession for about 3 minutes before I opened it and found these:



They are men's driving glasses, rated UV 400. So this was it? Merry Christmas to me. They ended up at the top of my Christmas tree as a new family tradition and a reminder that I should never become a professional gambler.

Another box arrived yesterday from my Grandma. She had ignored my "no gift" plea and sent me presents anyway. I went running through the living room yelling "Christmas is here! Christmas is here!"

So, I learned 2 important lessons this Christmas.
1. If there is even the faintest hope that I will want gifts, I should probably tell people my expectations.
2. I should probably be more specific than "Just get me something."

So, is anyone up for a road trip? I've got just the glasses for driving.

Book Worm Tuesday - Christian Edition

I think Tuesdays will be my favorite blogging days. Nothing makes me feel at peace like stepping into a library. I think to myself, "Here is just about everything I need to know, if only I had the time to read it all." When I became a mom, I was afraid my reading time would be constricted, but I have found that nursing offers a little down time to pursue reading (or the occasional sudoku puzzle). For some reason, I started collecting all of the library checkout receipts in an envelope. Probably because I stopped keeping track of each book I read. I will sort through this envelope each week to bring you the books I'm currently reading, books I liked, and books I did not like. Sometimes I wish books came with a rating, like movies, so I will try to add my own. This week will include some of my favorite Christian Living books.

Books I'm Currently Reading:

The Great Omission by Dallas Willard (G)
My pastor suggested Dallas Willard, but I'm not sure this is the right book on which to start. It's not keeping my attention.

Life on Planet Mom by Lisa T. Bergren (PG for marital relationship discussion)
This is the MOPS book they sent out this year. I only got through Chapter 1 so far, but it's pretty good.

Recommended Books:

Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey (PG because young kids wouldn't appreciate it)
This book sounds a little bit heretical, but it really explains the shift in God's involvement with his people between the Old and New Testaments. It also had a new take on Job I had never considered. I love anything by Philip Yancey and this was no exception.

The 4:8 Principle: the secret to a joy-filled life by Tommy Newberry (G)
It's the epitome of self-help books, with a Christian twist. The author is a life coach who encourages people to follow Philippians 4:8 (thinking on good things). He also has a free program on his website for people who want to take his 8-Day challenge.

Non-Recommended Books:

Don't Sleep, There are Snakes by Daniel Everett (PG?)
I don't know how to rate it because I didn't actually read it. The author and his wife were missionaries in the Amazon who translated some of the Bible into the native language. The author ultimately lost his faith and divorced his wife. I didn't want to read such a downer.

This post has gotten too long, so I'm going to stop, but I can't wait until next Tuesday! If you have read any of these books, please leave a comment with your thoughts.

"Tender and Mild" Stuffing Recipe

I made this stuffing for our Thanksgiving Feast and my sister just requested the recipe. It is plain enough for picky eaters and good enough for everyone else.

"Tender and Mild" Stuffing

10 c. torn, assorted bread crumbs (try to find the precut ones at the grocery store)
1/4 c. parsley
1/4 c. sage
2 T. rosemary
2 T. thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 eggs, beaten
14 1/2 oz. chicken broth (approx. 2 cups)
1/2 c. butter, melted

In large bowl, combine bread, herbs, salt and pepper. Combine eggs, broth and butter in separate bowl. Add to bread mixture and stir well. Put in 13" x 9" dish. Bake (uncovered) at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Make sure the eggs are cooked before you take it out.

Christmas Trees and the Acquisition Thereof

Theoretically, acquiring a Christmas tree is Montana should be easy. We have thousands of acres of forestland, on which grow evergreen trees. The Forest Service even has a program where a person can purchase tags for a savvy sum of $5 or so and cut down two trees from public land. It sounds great - if you like driving up steep, frozen roads that are poorly maintained and have dropoffs of hundreds of feet. After finding the perfect tree and lugging it up a hill to the car, and then driving the hour or so home, we would erect the tree to realize that it was not as full as it seemed in the forest. In fact, it would look eerily similar to the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. So, last year we decided to forego that cheap and time-consuming tradition and purchase our Christmas tree from the Super One parking lot. Last year an outfit called Vern's Christmas Trees had a stand that operated from a white trailer. They were there again this year, although they had tried (unsuccessfully) to remove the stickers that spelled out "Vern's." We strapped in the baby and drove about 2 minutes down the road. We told them our price, they pointed out 2 trees in that range, and my hubby picked one. The Christmas tree men threw it on top of my car and proceeded to tie it to all 4 outside car door handles at my hubby's persistence. Meanwhile, I felt like we were getting trapped in the car with no way out. I began to panic on the way home and finally expressed these thoughts to my husband, who pointed out that I was nervously opening and closing a pair of scissors I had stashed in the car. So, we cut our way out of the car and set it up. Once it was up, my hubby said, "I even got the guy to cut the top off." Now our angel didn't fit. No worries. I made the angel soar in flight and found some glasses for the top, which I will explain in Wednesday's post.

Welcome to my Blog!

Hi. My name is Jennifer and this is my first blog post - ever. It is the Christmas gift I'm giving myself (a little early). I am anticipating a following of my mom and my best friend Jen from college. If anyone else reads, then yippee! I want this blog to be a place to share my most favorite things, whether recipes, books, crafts, or memories. And all with a Montana twist. So, all two of you, look forward to Montana Life Mondays, Book Worm Tuesdays, Whatever Wednesdays, Soapbox Thursdays, and Foodie Fridays. I can hardly wait.